Start your Day with Intention

How’s it going this week?! Have you been able to feel more optimistic about the current season change?
An actual conversation I had this week with my brother:

Bro: “Ugh, I am not ready for this cold weather!”
Me: “Yeah, I actually just wrote an entire article about how hard it is! I wrote about some tips for going into a season you dislike and things you can do to help make it better. (I’m sure I babbled on here, as I usually do when talking about something I’m excited about). You should check it out!”
B: “Nice. I meant like, I don’t have a jacket…”

We skipped all the more tangible topics in the article, but hopefully you have found it a good reminder and helpful in enjoying the next season 😉

The last few weeks it’s been a struggle for me to focus in my morning meditation and priming exercises. Tony Robbins is still the man at making a practice that grounds you, centers your focus and creates a clear plan of progress for your life. As helpful as it is, and as important as I find it to my overall well-being, there are days when the routine feels a little stale, and the thought of dedicating 20 minutes to it feels like just too much. When those days come I usually do a mediocre job of my usual morning practice, or just sleep in. Not ideal for a person trying to make some serious goals happen. Of course on those days a good morning practice is what I need most!

On one such morning I happened upon a post from a like-minded woman who simplified her morning meditation into a single idea. Intention.

If you’re like me the concept of “intentionality” is a bit daunting. It sounds like this big, obscure idea that takes a lot of willpower and requires single-minded determination on a point. But really, setting an intention is all about simplicity. It’s about focus and planning and moving forward, but it’s also about freeing up your mind for other things. It’s a way to set your mind and spirit up for success throughout the day, that only requires a few minutes, if that. Some people plan out their daily intention in the beginning of the week to free up as many morning moments as possible throughout the week.

This woman describes it as pouring yourself a cup of whatever you need and want to focus on for the day. What could be easier than helping yourself to steamy warm cup of intention?

Maybe your cup would be full of peace. For a busy mind, full of half-made decisions, tension in relationships, or deeply feeling the chaos of the world, an intention of peace helps to focus those in between thoughts on the serene. When your mind wanders it will come back to peace, and you will be reminded to breathe, and find stillness. After a few days of particularly poor eating decisions, an intention of health helped me to focus my thoughts on the things I was doing to help my body to be healthy. When I sat in traffic and my thoughts tuned out I found myself tuning in to thoughts of a healthy life, the things I want to achieve and how to make decisions that will move me in a direction of wellness.

Strength. Compassion. Stillness. Listening. What do you value enough to make an intentional part of your day?

To help get you started, here are a few ideas!

Peace- Finding and creating mental peace, working to build and find peace in relationships, creating peace in your decisions and activities.

Optimism- Deciding to look on the bright side of every situation, infusing your interactions and activities with positivity, sharing your bright outlook with others.

Health- Focusing mental power on your own life force, infusing your body with power and strength.

Listening- Internal listening for your own thoughts and emotions, focusing on these to follow them through, listening to others.

Progress- Striving to move forward, not looking for perfection but making strides every day.

Refresh- Rejuvenation, a change in energy, creating an environment of relaxation and new power.

Gratitude- Thankful for the moment, your situation and what you are learning.

Whatever you choose to focus on, may your day be started with intention, lived with purpose and finished with gratitude! ❤